Well... what's up?

[deamonstar]

Hey friends. sorry I haven't been around for awhile. I've been occupied with a great deal of things as of late so, I've had little time to pursue my scientific passions.

The things that have otherwise taken my attention:

I am preparing to relocate by way of remodeling my house. the kitchen is the one major area that I've been working on. I am doing all of the labor myself. I have stripped the kitchen of all walls and sheetrocked and mudded them. A few coats of paint for the walls and all mouldings was taken care of by myself too. I have installed a new sub-floor and flooring (a vast improvement over the previous floor). New lighting has been added to accentuate the new look and, I must say, I am quite pleased with the results.

I hope to have the house ready for sale shortly. I have yet to finish spackling and sanding my dining-room to get ready for paint and trim. A few more week-ends should have that portion of the project complete. I still have even begin to look for new accomodations. I would prefer to live out of the city as the schools in the area are less than exemplary and not a place that I wish my children to attain their education. A place in the county-side should suffice for the scenery is much more relaxing and the schools are less stressed with student/teacher ratios.

I am also trying to start my own buisness. At the moment, I am in the residential framing industry. Don't get me wrong, I like my job and those that I work with (they trully are a great group of guys) however, it can be quite physically hard and often leaving me exhausted with liitle energy to see to my family duties such as cooking dinner, helping the kids with homework, taking them to tae-kwon-do practice and keeping the house from falling into a shambles of clutter and disorganization. But the main thing is that I realize that I cannot continue to be in this line of work forever. What I have been doing is trying to start up my own custom chopper bicycle building shop. I have fabricated and completed one bike so far and it is already receiving rave response from passers-by, neighbors, workmates and, most importantly to me, my peers who have long been in the custom bicycle industry. The bike that I have built has won the Bike Of the Month at one of the custom bikes forums that I have begun to frequent for tips on construction and advice and helpful criticizims.

If you would like to see the bike, it can be found at the main page of Kustom Cruisers about halfway down the page.

I also have a photo gallery of it at the forums there. if you would like to see the full spread then click HERE

I wish that I could at least be stargazing or be able to take my telescope out to a dark-sky site but, what with all of the hurricanes coming around, the skies seem perpetually overcast and the humidity quickly fogs up the mirrors on my scope rendering it completely useless.

If all of this were not enough, I have been suffering a case something akin to walking-pneumonia (indeed this is what my wife has diagnosed me with because I am too stubborn to see my doctor. I am still functioning so I don't need a doctor... yet.).

I have not forgotten about this wonderful forums. indeed, I do occasionally drop by to catch up on some reading even though I haven't (regrettfully) posted anything in some time. And due to my appearant absence, Tormod has recently sent an inquiring e-mail as to my whereabouts. This has prompted me to drop by and give everyone a heads-up. I will make an effort to become active again. To be a part of all the usually banddying of intellectual stimulations.

Untill next time however, see ya'll later!

[Tormod]

Hey old pal! Good to hear from you again. That bike looks really nice! There are several Virginians (what do you folks call yourselves?) around here now, BTW.

 

Take very good care of your health. Thanks for stopping by - I hope you find time to post now and then. At least to let us know how your bike business goes. It is hard to start on your own, but it sounds like you have a very good idea going there.

[IrishEyes]

Deamonstar,

Your bike looks awesome. Good to see you again. You said the city schools weren't too great, and you're thinking of moving to the country. Send me a PM if you live in the NoVa area and are interested in finding a place. I've lived in this area for a few years and LOVE the country setting, much more than the VaBeach (3 years there), or the Beltway (3 years there also). Glad to help out a fellow Forum member if I can. Also, where can I get one of those bikes? My youngest son would have a blast on one of those.

 

Also, yes, T, we generally call ourselves Virginians, or anything else, really, except 'late for dinner'.